


scheherazade

by nonamebut



Series: night flight [1]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Archer Lee Donghyuck | Haechan, Childhood Friends, Friends to Lovers, High School AU, Love Confessions, M/M, Mark Lee (NCT)-centric, Werewolf Mark Lee, ft mina and some side ships, mark is a bit oblivious
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-08
Updated: 2019-06-08
Packaged: 2020-04-23 01:51:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,830
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19141183
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nonamebut/pseuds/nonamebut
Summary: (mark and donghyuck are, as taeyong likes to tell anyone who’d listen, a tale as old as time.)The week leading up to June’s full moon goes down like this: Doyoung attracts another Twilight love triangle, Jisung becomes the Chosen One, and Mark confesses for the thousandth time.  Only two out of three events occur by accident or chance.





	scheherazade

**Author's Note:**

> but sometimes when i'm thinking about you / and no doubt smiling (it sits down quietly one paw under its chin / and just listens) that little beast, mary oliver
> 
> the summary is kind of misleading since the point of this particular fic is that it doesn't really have a plot haha. i guess you could say markhyuck are just one of the many stories that make up their weird little town :')

“Donghyuck, it’s me.” Mark taps out a familiar beat on his best friend’s window, waiting patiently to be snuck in.  The moonlight slips through the leaves rustling above his head, a gentle reminder to make tonight’s visit brief.

It takes a whole minute of wondering if Donghyuck had fallen asleep before the window finally slides open.  The slightly dazed expression on Donghyuck’s face does all the explaining for him.

“Dude, your bed hair…” Mark mumbles, leaning forward on the branch he’s been perched on to mess with Donghyuck’s bangs.

Donghyuck narrows his eyes.  Despite knowing each other for nearly two decades, Mark sometimes finds himself unnerved by Donghyuck’s gaze.  (It might just be the fact that Donghyuck comes from a long line of hunters — a family that has only recently established peace with Mark’s pack — that would explain the feeling of being, well, trapped under a stare.)

“I won’t hesitate to push you off!”  Donghyuck intercepts Mark’s hand, but instead of letting go and just doing what he said he’d do, he laces their fingers together.  “Did you come here to make fun of me or what?”

“I came here to make fun of you.”  Whatever pretense Mark commanded with his most deadpan tone effectively crumbles as he bursts into giggles.  Donghyuck just gives him a small, close lipped smile as he tugs him into the house.

Closing the window behind him, Mark slowly slides his hand out of Donghyuck’s warm ones so he can start untying his converse.  “So, what’s it going to be today? Did you want to talk about Doyoung hyung’s Twilight Triangle?”

Donghyuck lands face down on his bed with a faint thump.  The motion makes his soft looking white sleep shirt ride up a bit, and Mark very determinedly stares at his shoes, the door, literally anything else instead.

“Did he end up in a love triangle _again_?”  Donghyuck’s voice is muffled by his Spiderman themed comforter.

“Yep.”  Mark pops the p just to be a little dramatic.  When he notices Donghyuck shift on the bed through his peripheral vision, he looks up to find Donghyuck already looking at him.  He somehow finds the strength to add, “But this time, it’s with one of those vampires that just came to town.”

Donghyuck sits up abruptly.  “No way!” He whisper shouts, not wanting to wake up Johnny in his room just across the hall.  “Ten hyung told me they were definitely dating now?”

Mark winces.  “Well, that’s not what Winwin hyung was saying a few hours ago.  Said his vamp friend is interested in Doyoung hyung, and that Doyoung hyung wasn’t doing anything to reject his flirting, or whatever.”

He leaves his shoes by the window and sits on the bed as well, knocking his and Donghyuck’s knees together.  “Also, did you know? One of the new vampires is also a senior, though he’s not in any of my classes. I met him the other day and I think I really like him — !”

“Actually, maybe we could save that Twilight stuff for another night?”  When Donghyuck turns, Mark realizes they’re sitting a little too close. The strange sense of being caught hijacks Mark’s heart, his heartbeat an unfamiliar rhythm.

This time, when Donghyuck smiles, it makes Mark think of a quiet sunrise.  Of a soft light slowly crawling over the horizon. “Can you tell me a story instead?  It’s been a while.”

“Okay,” Mark whispers back, feeling strangely grateful that he quickly brushed his teeth before coming here.  “Get in then?” He gestures behind them, towards the fluffy pillows and the headboard made of enchanted mahogany — a silent request for Donghyuck to slip under the covers, leaving Mark on the other side of the bed.

It’s like… tradition to do that, after all.  This thing they’ve been doing for almost two decades, that is.

“It’s fine.  Don’t you have to leave soon?”  Mark blinks and Donghyuck’s hand snugly fits itself around Mark’s waist, pulling the two even closer.  Donghyuck tucks his chin on Mark’s shoulder.

Mark is self aware enough to admit — even just to himself — that he only allows it because the eye contact is brought to a minimum.

He clears his throat.  Tugs at the black sleeve of his hoodie.  “Yeah, the full moon’s tomorrow. Curfew is earlier tonight, but… we still have time.  I’ll still come by tomorrow too, if you want.”

Mark knows that Donghyuck knows, but for some reason he feels the need to say it anyway, some kind of weird verbal validation.  “I know, hyung.”

There’s a comfortable pause, as Mark wracks his brain for a quick tale to tell, and Donghyuck makes himself even more at home as he not so subtly places himself on Mark’s lap.  Mark feels more than sees Donghyuck smile against his shoulder.

Though their current position is a definite change from their usual arrangement, Mark’s just glad that Donghyuck still feels… safe?  After all, this is what Donghyuck has always asked of Mark whenever he felt uneasy: _Tell me a story_.  Their little bedtime tradition that they never grew out of.

Because even if this boy learned how to throw a knife before he could talk in full sentences, even if Donghyuck is the only human who can beat even Mark during training, even if Lee Donghyuck can probably disarm anyone with a simple smile —

Donghyuck has never said it aloud, but Mark can tell that he’s not particularly keen on really going out into the unknown, to kill creatures that would remind him too much of the ones that took his parents from him, all those years ago.

The light of the day can make anything seem less intimidating, but there’s always the question the night brings, the uneasiness of the shadow.

And Mark might not have all the answers, but this is for _Donghyuck_ , who always stood up for him whenever the humans at school got particularly snide.  The same Donghyuck who knows how to push all his buttons but also manages to be his greatest enabler, who inspires him to keep improving and growing.

Slipping in through the window and doing his best to be the most entertaining distraction he could be doesn’t seem so bad, all things considered.  He’s never been as funny as Donghyuck, but when it came to keeping his best friend feel okay in this weird town, where they experience so many end-of-the-worlds that it’s almost comical, he’d muster the courage to do anything.

After all, Mark knows first hand how god _awful_ the dark could be.  He knows it all too well.

“Okay, I got it.”  Mark gives in and wraps his arms around his most treasured, most important friend.  Something delicate flutters in his stomach when Donghyuck relaxes in his hold. “This is… story number nine hundred, uh…”

“Nine-nine-nine,” Donghyuck says quietly.  “Hey, isn’t that your birthday, or something?”

Mark giggles the way he does whenever Donghyuck says anything mildly amusing.  (Which is to say, he giggles this way a little too much.) “Lucky number!”

And with that, Mark starts spinning story nine-nine-nine: a tale of twin boys, one of the summer sun and strength, the other of the monsoon moon and magic.  They often played the whole day, never sleeping throughout their eternity as they always found something interesting to do or speak of.

Mark has to shush Donghyuck, then, when in real life he asks what the twins do in the night time if they do not sleep. Because in the story, night time doesn’t quite exist.  Not yet.

So when the last quarter of the year is just around the corner, the summer boy decides to teach the moon how to love light, how the feeling of fire can also soothe in its own strange way.

But when the moon tries to shape a soft shine of his own, the sun ends up suffering for it.  The sun gets hurt now, whenever the moon comes out in the day. Maybe it was better off staying in the shadows at this time instead.

“Why do all your stories end up like this?”  Though Mark can’t see Donghyuck’s face, he can tell that the other boy is, somehow, somewhat sad.  “I wonder, sometimes, why you always have these characters who do things out of love and kindness suffer for their actions.”

Mark looks away, towards the window, at the moonlight that peeks through the curtains.  “Well, you’re going to have to save the wondering for tomorrow night.” He gives Donghyuck’s cheek a soft poke, just to get the other boy to look at him.  “I think this is a good place to stop, right?”

“Right.”  Donghyuck’s eyes dart to the window before they settle on Mark’s hands, which have moved from the small of his back to rest on his thighs.  He reaches out to grasp them one last time before he slides under the covers. “Good night, hyung.”

“Good night, Donghyuck.”  Mark takes his time tying his shoes.  “I hope you sleep well tonight.”

When Mark can’t think of anything else to say, he wordlessly turns the bedside lamp off.  Then on his way out he lingers, a foot on a tree branch and the other still on the window sill.  He looks back, cheats and uses his wolf eyes to make sure Donghyuck’s still in bed.

Donghyuck must be annoyed, now, because in the dark Mark can read his lips: _Leave, you dork._  Mark laughs and pulls the hood over his head.  “See you tomorrow, Hyuck.”

 

—

 

It’s the usual spooky business, the next day at school.  There’s not much drama to talk about when Mark meets up with his friends during one of their breaks.

In the morning his classmate and fellow werewolf Mina convinced their class to help her with her promposal (“But Hyeyeon doesn’t even go here anymore,” interrupts Renjun, to which Mark counters with a, “Guests are allowed to attend prom!”), and during one of the sophomore chemistry labs Chenle finally aced (“By aced, do you mean barely pass?” Jaemin teases goodnaturedly) his first rotating practical exam.

Oh, and by lunch time, the student body finds out their very own Park Jisung is the Chosen One, with psychic Siyeon pointing at him across the cafeteria, screaming, “That’s the guy from my vision!”

Just another day at their no name high school, yeah?  At least, it was going to be another day, until new vampire Lucas swings by their lunch table and proceeds to pull off the most dramatic promposal the school has seen this year — which is, well, saying a lot.

“Oh,” says Mark, faintly.  “Is that why he asked me all those questions?”

From beside him, Donghyuck tenses, just a bit, and on his other side Jeno pulls out his phone to take a Snap of what’s probably going to win this year’s Best Promposal.  Across the table Jaemin starts yelling.

Ignoring the screams in typical Renjun fashion, Renjun leans over, the subtle trace of jasmine nosing for attention.  He tugs at the sleeve of Mark’s leather jacket.

“You helped Yukhei hyung plan this?” Renjun asks incredulously, but Mark’s not looking at him.

No, he’s watching Donghyuck, looking out for the tell tale tightening of the shoulders, for a tiny twist of the lips.  He didn’t realize he inadvertently told Lucas all the things he knew Donghyuck liked, but to be fair, he was the one who started rambling on and on about his best friend after only being slightly prodded — nudged, really — about it _once_.

Donghyuck laughs when some of the school band kids come in through the double doors, and gives a cute, tiny wave when he sees his friend Felix come in with an accordion. Doyeon flutters her angel wings above them as she scatters a trail of yellow petals, making a makeshift way for Donghyuck to reach Lucas.

When the petal path is finished, one of the theatre kids (Mark thinks his name is Sunwoo?) starts beatboxing, and Lucas _actually_ starts rapping the remainder of his promposal.

Lucas slowly makes his way towards Donghyuck, obtaining sunflowers from Yeonjung-from-choir when he passes by the part of the cafeteria the cosmic girls claimed.  He also eventually acquires a box of choco balls when Rocky slides it to him from where he’s sitting with the dance club.

When Lucas finally reaches their table, Donghyuck still hasn’t moved or said anything, just watching on with his patient, unnerving hunter’s gaze.  (Mark hopes he didn’t inadvertently help pull off something that would end up making his best friend uncomfortable.)

Jaemin speaks for all of them when he nearly hollers, “What do you want?!”  For all his teasing and overall demonic personality (no pun intended), Jaemin is most likely to be the first to throw hands for anyone in their friend group.

“I want to take you —” here, Lucas points dramatically at Donghyuck “ — to prom.  Will you go with me, Lee Donghyuck?”

Amazingly enough, the outburst makes the cafeteria silent as death.  It says a lot about Lucas and his charm, that he can make a hall filled with banshees and hyenas quiet.

Donghyuck glances at Mark, making eye contact for the briefest of seconds before turning back to the senior standing in front of them.  “Hey, um, if it’s cool with you, could we continue this conversation in private?”

Lucas is undeterred.  “Of course!”

After Donghyuck is led by hand outside the double doors, the cafeteria erupts back into its usual frenzy.

“Oh my god?” Jeno gasps, finally lowering his phone and giving everyone a look.  “I can’t believe I actually recorded what’s probably the most extra promposal from the last century?”

Slamming his hands down on the table, Jaemin says in a surprisingly indoor voice level of volume, “Shut up, you furry.  I can’t believe that guy actually knew what Donghyuck likes? It’s the most extra _Donghyuck_ promposal from the last century.”

“I think it’s because Mark hyung probably told him?  Just a while ago, hyung was saying he made friends with him recently.”

Mark nods.  “Renjun’s right.  I didn’t actually realize what he was asking all that stuff for, honestly!”

When Jaemin scoffs, Mark kicks at his feet from under the table.  “Seriously! I thought it was just casual conversation.”

 _Casual conversation_ , Jeno mouths at Renjun, who only sighs longsufferingly.

“Well, it doesn’t really matter now, does it?  What’s done is done.” Renjun glances pointedly in the direction of the double doors.  “Anyway, we’re about to find out whether or not Donghyuck’s got a date for prom.”

“You guys don’t actually believe Donghyuck’s gonna say yes, right?” asks Jaemin.  Only Mark answers, throwing a question back. “Why wouldn’t he?”

The cafeteria shushes itself again when Lucas walks Donghyuck back to their table.  The two boys step over the sunflower petals, their hands comfortably swinging between them.

“Thanks again, hyung,” Donghyuck says warmly as he takes his seat beside Mark.  Lucas just shoots him finger guns before turning away and walking towards his own table.  (He stops to bend down and clean the flower petals, which makes Mark reflect on what a nice guy he is, and that he wouldn’t mind leaving his best friend in the vampire’s cold hands for a night.)

By the time Lucas sits down, the cafeteria naturally gets noisy again, and Jaemin has to bang his fist on the table and manipulate the nearest shadows just to make sure no one tries crowding their table to hound at Donghyuck.

Jeno leans around Mark to grab at Donghyuck’s wrist.  “Tell us everything and tell us now! The break is about to end and I will lose it if I don’t find out what you guys said before class starts.”

Donghyuck rolls his eyes but moves to lightly clasp Jeno’s hand in his.  “Of course I said no, dummy. I barely know the guy, and it’s honestly kinda creepy that he knows me enough that he’d quote _Notting Hill_ to prompose to me.”

“I’m just a boy, standing in front of another boy,” Jaemin crows, “asking him to go to prom with me!”

Donghyuck turns to Mark, and for the first time since the whole Lucas thing started, Mark finally feels like he can calm down.  On the other hand Donghyuck doesn’t look particularly bothered at all; in fact, he looks kind of amused, his eyes flitting across Mark’s face.

Renjun’s question cuts through, the curiosity so very palpable in his tone.  “So Yukhei hyung was just fine with it?”

“Yep!”  Donghyuck pops the p.  “It’s not like I made fun of him, I’m not that mean!  I just thanked him and said I couldn’t go with him. He was a pretty good sport about it, actually.”

Jaemin’s evil cackle tears Mark’s eyes away from Donghyuck.  “Maybe I’m just waiting for the right guy to ask me,” he says in the voice he always uses when he wants to mock-mimic Donghyuck.  But Jaemin isn’t directing his smug grin in Donghyuck’s direction at all.

Mark blinks at Jaemin.  “That’s a pretty valid reason though, Jaemin?”

Jeno groans.

“This is going to be the only time I ask this kind of thing, but hyung… do you not feel weird that some guy asked Donghyuck out?” Renjun asks quietly.

Mark feels Donghyuck staring heatedly at the side of his face but he holds Renjun’s gaze evenly, feeling like he’s being challenged... despite not knowing what he’s being challenged for at all?  “Not really?” Mark shrugs. “I mean, in this case, I already know Lucas is a pretty good guy. I’m usually pretty cautious of people and I know I get kinda protective, but he’s always given me good vibes.”

Oh!  “And he got a lot of the people in our year to help him, so if he was able to get all of us to trust him, he must be great.”

“If you say so.”  Jeno sounds completely unconvinced.

It’s at this moment Chenle and Jisung decide to return, smelling greatly of medicine and laundry and clinic.  The scent is so strong that Jeno and Mark sneeze.

“Don’t tell me _another_ person was called to be the Chosen One,” Jisung says, already looking like he’s about to faint for the second time today.

“Aw, cutie, don’t worry!”  Jaemin reaches out to pinch the maknae’s cheeks.  “You’re the only Chosen One, fortunately. The unfortunate thing is that you missed the most extra _Donghyuck_ promposal of the century.”

Mark doesn’t know if Jisung lets out a tiny sob because he’s left to fulfill The Prophecy alone, or because he missed the quote most extra Donghyuck promposal of the century, unquote. Jeno just silently places his iPhone in Chenle’s eager hands.  Renjun keeps eating his salad.

In the corner of Mark’s eye, he sees Donghyuck quietly stuff the box of choco balls in the depths his backpack.  It makes Mark smile, just a bit.

 

—

 

Before they all separate and head for their classrooms, Renjun tugs on Mark’s sleeve again, and Mark _swears_ that if he tries to ask weird Donghyuck questions again —

“‘Kay, so, the world’s gonna end within the next period.”  Renjun’s eyes are far away, distant like the galaxies he loves to study so much.  “I’m seeing another really dramatic confession, holy shit.”

Jaemin shoves Mark out of the way so he can grab Renjun by the shoulders.  “What else?! Please tell me it’s redacted!”

“Who’s re —”

“Mark, not now.”  A long suffering sigh.  “And Jaemin, it might just be.  There are ugly ass green bows and arrows at the end of the world.”

“That’s Donghyuck’s family color thing!”  For the first time since lunch, Jisung looks utterly delighted.

Someone brushes their hand along Mark’s.  Normally Mark would be inclined to pull away, but he’s feeling indulgent today, for whatever reason.  “Alright, everyone settle down,” Donghyuck says from Mark’s side. “I didn’t even bring my stuff today, so for all we know, even my siblings could show up.”

Renjun still rolls his fogged up star eyes.  “Sure, _Hyeyeonie_ is gonna bust into our school, and just after she — most definitely _not_ you — takes down some hellhound, someone’s going to confess to her.  Not you, not at all.”

“Wait!”  Feeling particularly dramatic, Mark gasps, holding everyone’s attention for once.  “You might be onto something, Renjun.”

Jeno groans when Mark reminds them all that Mina did, after all, convince his class to help her with her promposal this morning.

“Anyway,” Renjun says when his eyes chill out again.  He and Chenle share a meaningful glance. “Only time will tell, then.”

So Mark walks Donghyuck to his classroom then climbs back up a few flights of stairs to get to his own just as the bell rings.  The day continues as normal, and eventually, the end of the world does come in the form of blood thirsty unicorns with rainbow manes.

“Ugh, I bet the vampires summoned them,” Mina grumbles.  She grumpily stuffs her star map in her bag and gives Mark his eraser back.

“Don’t be mean.”  Oh! Mark taps her shoulder, adds, “Hey, Renjun said we might see Hyeyeon when the world ends.”

That makes Mina’s eyes light up, the way it only does when she sniffs out food.  “Shut up! I’m not ready, I just started planning today… !”

“I mean, confessing at the end of world is kind of romantic, right?”  Standing up, Mark pulls on his backpack. He taps his nails on their shared table absentmindedly.

When she calms down enough, Mina pulls Mark out of the classroom by his leather jacket — what was _up_ with people and the jacket today? — and they start heading for the field as per end of the world protocol.  “Sure? I mean, as long as the unicorns don’t end up being too lame, I guess.”

They bow when they bump into Mr. Do as they pass the faculty comfort room.  He probably just ended a call with his boyfriend, though he’d never admit it, much less to students.  “End of the world on the sixth floor, sir,” Mark says with another bow.

Mr. Do, impassive as ever, just bows back.  “Alright. Continue. Remember the drills.”

Mina giggles when they turn the corner.  “Drills? Did we have any unicorn drills?”

“You should take your drills seriously, Mina,” intones a familiar voice, and Mark claps excitedly when he realizes who it is.

“Doyoung hyung, hi!  What are you up to?”

Mina _ohhh_ s.  “The end of the world was serious enough that they called the hunters.”  She points at the very green bow and arrow set Doyoung is holding onto.

“No, no, I’m just a human, not a hunter.”  Doyoung pauses, fumbling with the weapons. A very strange, sharp scent masks his usual fabric softenery smell. “But, well, yes, the hunters are here.  I’m just bringing these to Johnny.”

Narrowing his eyes and tilting his head the way Donghyuck taught him to, Mark says, “Why are you so nervous hyung?  You’re acting kinda shady today. Are you okay?”

Both Mark and Mina jump when a fourth person speaks up.  Just how quiet is this guy? “You should have told me you weren't feeling well, love.”

Walking towards them with a very dignified posture is a very, very handsome looking man who also happens to be wearing one of Doyoung’s favorite dress shirts.  This time, Mark is the one that _ohhh_ s.  The soulless ones always did smell particularly sharp.

“You must be Kun?” Mark asks.  He glances at Mina, who seems to recognize the name from their past conversations with a faint gasp.  “Oh, you’re the vampire! No wonder we couldn’t sense you.”

“You must be Sejeong’s familiar, then?  While you are Taeyong’s favorite.” Kun glances behind the werewolves before he adds, “you better step aside for a bit, sweethearts. Doyoung and I need to take care of this hallway first.”

A disgruntled neigh echoes throughout the hall.

“Oh my god, I feel kinda bad I didn't notice that…”

Mark just takes Mina’s hand in response and lets Doyoung and Kun take action.  “I knew you were actually using those weapons, by the way! Go Doyoung hyung!”

“If you tell Jeno about this I will kill you.”

With Doyoung’s Main Protagonist Luck, those words just lead to more people showing up, apparently. “Tell me what, hyung — oh my god you’re using a bow and arrow.”

Coming up the flight of stairs is the gang, plus Ten and Johnny.  Donghyuck gives Mark a wave when their eyes meet, and Mark lets go of Mina’s hand to wave back. It makes Donghyuck smile, in turn making Mark think of sunsets and skies again.

“How bad is it?” Johnny asks, suddenly standing in front of Mark.  Mark blinks, says, “Honestly, not too bad. Sorry Mina, but the unicorns are kind of boring after all.”

Mina snorts.  “It’s fine, I don’t think she’s coming after all, anyway.”

“Oh my god,” Jaemin laments.  He presses his cheek onto Jeno’s shoulder.  “You guys don’t actually think Renjun’s vision was about Hyeyeon, do you?  The confession involves a green bow and arrow… at _our_ school...”

“Now that you mention it, I feel like Mark totally miscalculated.”  Mark throws Mina his most betrayed look while Johnny just walks past him to help Doyoung and Kun. “What?  You should have told me the full prophecy sooner! Anyone with a brain would know it’s going to be Donghyuck.  Or Doyoung oppa.”

“Hey!”  Donghyuck pouts.  “If the vision was really about me, I’d be the confessor, not the one being confessed to.  And I’m not planning on confessing to anyone right now.”

The groaning Jeno does everytime Mark tries to defuse awkward situations like this is really, really getting old.  “That’s true, too. Since the student body knows not to ask you out after even Lucas got rejected, you being the confessor is the only option.  But you need to like someone first!” Mark nods to himself. “And if you were planning on confessing today even I would know.”

“Sure you would,” Jaemin says with a cackle.  “God, this week has been so fucking wild.”

Renjun tells Jaemin to watch his language (“Isn’t it normal for demons to curse God, though?” Chenle mumbles defensively) before he lifts a dainty finger towards the other side of the hallway.

“Well, I guess there’s our confession.”

Wordlessly, Jeno brings out his phone even though Johnny’s already filming the whole thing a few feet away.  Chenle walks in front of the camera lens to deal with the unicorns himself, now that the adults have effectively rendered themselves useless to the whims of a romantic plot arc.

“You were always beside me,” Ten is saying.  Mark feels a bit bad that he never realized that the prophecy was about his fellow pack member all along.  But then he remembers that Ten is also the same person who dicked around for like, two decades before finally getting his shit together.

Doyoung, bless his heart, looks appropriately shocked.  Like he hasn’t been waiting this whole time for any sign of direct reciprocation.  “I’ll always be your best friend. What are you talking about?”

It takes a few seconds before Ten musters the strength to say, in an unexpected and uncharacteristic moment of vulnerability, “I’m talking about how I’ve been in love with you since forever.”  

Kun whistles.  “That’s something.”

It’s at this moment that some of Mark’s friends truly start to lose it.  Mina has to punch his shoulder to hold it in.

“Guys, calm down,” Mark mumbles.  “It’s the end of the world, can’t you all be more serious about this?”

Jisung hiccups a few times before he can speak.  “Serious?” Another hiccup. “If anything, it’s more romantic.  Kinda like those dumb romcoms you and Donghyuck hyung love watching.”

Mark opens his mouth to tell the maknae off for not even helping Chenle with the unicorns, but Chenle seems to have it pretty under control.  He must look so lost that Mina, the same girl who’s never let him live down anything ever, teases Jisung about the total unromanticism of unicorns instead.

“Does this not inspire anything in you, hyung,” Renjun deadpans.  He’s the only one not absolutely delighted at the way Doyoung quite literally leaps into Ten’s arms.  “Like, at all?”

Mark gets a bit distracted by Donghyuck’s laugh, the way his eyes crinkle, how he curls into himself.  It reminds Mark of the most important thing.

At the end of it all, Mark’s just glad everyone’s alive, that they’ve survived yet another apocalypse.  “Not particularly.”

 

—

 

It takes at least an hour for Jeno to recount today’s events to a very amused Taeyong.  By the time he reaches the end of the world, Taeyong has finished baking enough sweets to feed his entire pack, with enough to spare for all the other friendly neighborhood shifters outside of their group.

“And then,” Jeno says around several bites of chocolate chip cookie, “Ten hyung started to confess, right then and there!  In the middle of the unicorns!”

Taeyong hums as he carefully ties together a couple of shimmery grey boxes, all of them filled so generously with goodies.  “Even in front of Johnny? You’d think he’d have learned not to do silly things in front of Johnny after so many years of friendship.”

“Even in front of hyung!  Just watch the vlog he’s definitely making out of this, you’ll know I wasn’t exaggerating anything.”

Shaking his head, Mark slides another handwritten card to Taeyong’s side of the counter.  They won’t have enough time to prepare all the full moon gifts if they don’t hurry up. “Jeno, don’t you have homework to do?”

The younger werewolf narrows his eyes at him.  “Don’t _you_ have homework to do?”

When Jeno makes a show of sniffing very audibly, as if he could smell the very suspicion off of Mark, their guardian laughs knowingly.  “It’s fine, guys. We can finish this later, you know the pack only ever eats this stuff for breakfast the morning after our shift.”

Mark’s right hand slackens a bit, the Sharpie in his grip slipping ever so slightly.  “So we can go now?”

“No.”  Taeyong pouts.  “You still haven’t told me about your day yet, kid.  You’ve been so quiet since you came back home…”

Mark tries really hard not to look at the window above the sink.  Tries really hard not to stare beyond the half pulled curtains, at the soft shine of the moon.

“I just… I’ve just been thinking —”

“— you’re _thinking_?  On god?”

“Jeno, let him speak.”

“I was thinking.”  Mark rolls the Sharpie between his palms.  “I’m not sure how to end the story I was telling Donghyuck last night.”

His packmates exchange a quick glance.  He thinks he hears Jeno mumble something along the lines of _I knew he wasn’t actually going to do his homework._

But Taeyong, who loves stories just as much as Mark does, simply puts down the wrap of ribbon.  “Why not? You wrote just fine when we did that drabble exercise two days ago. Did you get writer’s block?”

“Maybe.”  An interrupting groan.  “I just feel like — like for some reason I’ve been leading up to something.  Like I’m supposed to make this one special. Did you know that after I finish this one, I’ll be telling Donghyuck my one thousandth tale?”

Jeno kicks his feet in the air, the moonlight making him way more somber than a person stuffing his face atop a kitchen counter should.  “We didn’t ask, but that’s still nice. It’s cool you were able to think about a thousand different scenarios, I guess!”

Huh.  “Maybe that’s the thing,” Mark wonders aloud.  “Maybe I’m stuck because… because this sounds too much like a tale I’ve told before.”

They all hum in thought, coming together, wolves running under the light of a full moon.

“I don’t know any of the things you’ve told Donghyuck,” says Taeyong as he picks up the blue sash again.  “But you know your stories — and Donghyuck — best. I’m sure you can hash out something new by the time you leave for the Lee house.”

Before Mark processes Taeyong’s encouragement, his mind hones in on the passing comment made at the end of it all.  Was he being that obvious?

Mark starts to feel a bit embarrassed, then, his face heating up, most definitely making him look as violently red as the watermelons Doyoung brings them every summer.

But he gains comfort, remembering that Taeyong has known him since forever, and that it’s not too bad, being teased by him.  At least, it’s not as bad compared to the torture Johnny puts him through every time he swings by the house of their hunter friends.

Why should he feel bad about visiting his best friend?  His best dude?

For some reason Jeno starts whining, throwing his biggest puppy eyes at Taeyong.  Taeyong just continues. “Also, you know that if there’s anything you want to tell me…”  He shakes his head. “No, if there’s anything you want to tell us, you know that we’ll always support you.  Right, Jeno?”

“No!”  Mark flinches at Jeno’s strange, passionate refusal.  “Wait, no, I mean, yes! I just meant that… hyungggg.”

Taeyong turns his pout towards Jeno instead; it’s so uwu-inducing that Mark finds himself highly impressed when Jeno keeps pushing forward.  “I meant, is that all you’re going to say about this?”

When Jeno continues, he does so in a whisper yell, speaking to Taeyong as if Mark couldn’t hear every single word he proceeds to utter.  “You know you’re one of the only people Mark really listens to! Help me out, hyung, I have a bet to win and a promposal to sabotage.”

“Wait, what?”

“I refuse to take any sides,” says Taeyong diplomatically.  “If Mark wants to do anything, you know he’s going to do it no matter what.  Have some faith in him, okay?”

Jeno groans, stares at the cookie at his hand with what he must think is his most menacing look.  (He just comes across as cutely grumpy, in Mark’s humble opinion. Vaguely, it reminds him of Donghyuck whenever Mark picks him up after his more grueling rehearsals.)

“Absolutely fully capable, I know.”

A comfortable silence falls over the three shifters.  At some point, Mark finishes all the cards and drags his chair to the other side of the kitchen to help Taeyong with the final assembly.  The temporary peace tricks Mark into thinking that they’ve finally moved on from the Donghyuck thing — which, well. Big mistake.

“It’s just — isn’t it weird, hyung?”  As per usual, Jeno’s ignoring Mark. “There’s just, all these signs?  Is he just not noticing them on purpose? I don’t get it?”

Taeyong smooths down his soft pink apron.  (It’s the one Donghyuck gave him last Christmas.)  “You don’t have to get it, Jeno. Everyone’s going to understand things differently.”

The whisper yelling returns.  “Yeah, so why don’t we help Mark with that?  If that super perfect Edward Cullen promposing doesn’t trigger anything in him, then what will?”

“That’s exactly why we shouldn’t say anything, why it’s useless to say anything.  Remember that time Donghyuck broke his leg?”

“I do,” Mark adds unhelpfully to the conversation.

“He wasn’t asking you,” teases Jeno.  “Anyway, I remember too. That was the time that rogue wolf got high on fairydust, before Donghyuck managed to take the dumbass down.”  Jeno pauses, mutters something like, _but at what cost._  “Mark went crazy since Donghyuck couldn’t leave his house for weeks.”

Taking a page from Taeyong’s book, Mark pouts and pitches his voice up, just a little.  “That wasn’t a good time for me, leave me alone! But what has this got to do about anything?”

Jeno’s eyes widen.  He points dramatically at Taeyong, makes one of his trademark _eh_ noises.  “Wait, I get what you’re trying to say!”

“No, I meant that even the end of the world can’t make Mark do anything —” Taeyong starts to backtrack but it’s futile.

With a determined sparkle in his eye, Jeno turns to Mark, using the inviting tone Donghyuck must have taught him to use whenever he wanted to get anything out of Mark in particular.  “Have you ever wondered what would happen, when Donghyuck finally gets old enough to go and hunt on his own? You know, when he faces all those demons solo.”

Taeyong winces.  “Taking advantage of insecurity?  Not cool.”

“But I already said it.”  At least Jeno manages to look sheepish, his moon eyes scrunching up, an unspoken apology.  “And even you think Mark hyung’s whole night-creatures-are-inherently-evil-angst-thing is super dumb.”

“Well, I do, but that’s still not a nice thing to say.  Don’t you think Mark has already thought about this? There’s no use rubbing it in.”

And that’s the end of that conversation, with Taeyong finally shooing Jeno off the counter and making him tie up the last of the boxes.  They finish up the presents in silence, the clock on the wall opposite them ticking down to the hour they must change forms.

The whole night creature angst thing, sure, is something that’s made a lot of people think twice about the almost Scott/Allison type relationship going on between who’s probably going to be head alpha of the whole city and the best human archer in generations.

But that’s a whole, separate thing, Mark decides, as he ties his converse and tells Taeyong and Jeno that’s he off and to take care.  Mark knows the dark all too well, how it consumes him and all the other creatures of the night, but he also knows that an unnatural shadow wouldn’t automatically make him or anyone else evil.

Well... objectively, yeah, he knows that.  Subjectively, there’s always been a part of him that yearns to be better, to be good, and maybe it does make him sad sometimes, but.  It’s definitely not related to Donghyuck at all because it’s a _Mark_ problem which will get it’s own Mark solution.

“So if the whole werewolf insecurity isn’t the Donghyuck problem,” Mark hears Jeno ask Taeyong before he closes the door and runs over to the hunter’s house, “what’s keeping Mark from realizing jack shit?”

 

—

 

Donghyuck is already waiting at his window, hands reaching out when Mark’s still halfway up the tree in the Lee backyard.  “Hurry, I want to know what happens next —” it’s here that Mark realizes he’s using his Jungwoo voice “ — ASAP!”

Mark only laughs, lets himself be pulled in, welcomed by the familiar sight of the fairy lights dangling over the small couch in the corner, the MJ poster tacked to the back of Donghyuck’s door.

“You’re eager today.”  Mark pretends to think.  “Something special happening tonight?”

“Haha, very funny, now sit down so we can start!”

One would think that growing up in such a magic infested city, with prophecies and ends of the world lurking at every corner, would raise anyone to be, well, dramatic.  Because that’s how life is here, normally — where everything, no matter how good or evil, is beautiful and perfect in its own predestined plot kind of way.

By this very logic, one would expect Mark to realize and respond to his longstanding, burning feelings for his best friend in any of the following ways:

  1. When Lucas promposes in the way someone who’s known Donghyuck for years would
    1. Mark would think of sunflowers, of how he’s been looking at Donghyuck and maybe Donghyuck was looking back at him the whole time, too
    2. Cue the jealousy, the fear of losing his chance
    3. Then, in the middle of the cafeteria, when Jaemin taunts Donghyuck about waiting for the right guy to ask even though he’s really taunting Mark all along, Mark would abruptly stand up, walk over to borrow a guitar from one of his organization friends, and proceed to serenade Donghyuck with an acoustic rendition of _You Are My Sunshine_ with lyrical changes to be quirky and also to avoid possible copyright issues
  2. When Renjun predicts a confession at the end of the world
    1. Because the end of the world means danger, it means _I might not see you anymore after this_
    2. Mark would feel the need to act, to move before it’s too late and Donghyuck’s six feet under because of a terrible, terrible accident
    3. Like a self fulfilling prophecy (but not really, because that’s not how it really works, but that’s what makes sense in this kind of city, anyway) Mark sees through the vision Renjun made and, once the school PA system declares a unicorn take over, makes his way over to the junior classrooms to romantically proclaim to Donghyuck how he doesn’t want to wait any longer, how they cannot escape their destiny any longer
  3. When Ten confesses to his best friend of two decades to an audience of murderous unicorns, a bunch of high schoolers, a Twilight Triangle rival, and a local YouTuber who would end up blowing up overnight after posting a video of this very confession
    1. This confession would seem familiar, how easy it is for someone to keep quiet about their feelings when it comes to a best friend they don’t know how to live without
    2. Dejavu wins out and Mark would end up being the reason for the major exposure that would come to Johnny’s channel
    3. Mark would grasp Donghyuck’s hands and say something sappy about the years they’ve known each other, a pretty good reason and solid backstory to justify the shmoopy confession that would put Ten’s to shame just because Mark stole the main character spotlight for his own love’s sub plot
  4. When Jeno provokes his insecurity and Taeyong gives advice
    1. The nature of Mark’s magical alignment would actually be taken seriously, the shadows and night and evil residing in him a constant reminder of the danger he could pose
    2. It wouldn’t be hard to lose himself in the idea that he’s not meant to be in the light, to be loved, to be treated with such kindness by a boy who lived in the day
    3. Unlike all the other scenarios, where Mark acts first and acts fast, it takes a slow burn for Donghyuck to really notice how distance Mark would start being and before finally confronting the older boy and all the doubts that they would share now that they’re about to officially become canon
  5. When Mark’s telling his story, his nine hundred ninety ninth story —



Because that’s how it’s supposed to go, right?  Mark’s supposed to stop in the middle of the story and realize that all these tales he’s been trying to tell — they’re not really fiction at all.

But Mark doesn’t do any of that.  Instead, he finishes the story, ends it on a sad note and separates the sun and moon into day and night, only meeting in an eclipse that makes the world stop and stare and smile, gazes all pointed upwards to watch them become one in the sky.

“That’s kinda romantic,” says Donghyuck.  He smiles a little, a tiny beam of light.

Mark only snorts.  “I guess? Well, to be honest, I kind of rushed it because there’s another story I wanted to tell tonight.”

“Huh?”  Donghyuck starts to move, wiggling away from Mark’s lap, but Mark stops him with a warm embrace.  “Hyung, are you sure? It’s… almost time, right?”

But Mark doesn’t do any of that, because what he does instead is this:

It’s nothing special.  He just takes in the boy in his arms, his best friend.  Donghyuck is not wearing any special pajamas, nor is he making any particular jokes to trigger any particular memories for Mark to pull confession inspiration from.

Honestly, Mark’s already so used to his scent that his nose kind of skips past it, already so familiar.  Not even his wolf senses can detect an erratic heartbeat, or sense an inkling of any foreign emotion.

It’s nothing special, because Mark just looks at Donghyuck, looks in the same way he always has.  And he says, “Story number one thousand?”

“You know,” Donghyuck whispers instead, in his conspiratorial way, before Mark can say anything else, “there’s this whole legend of a king that took a thousand stories to fall in love.”

Mark laughs, distracted.  “Really?”

In response, Donghyuck shyly brushes his fingers along Mark’s forearm.  This is what finally brings Mark to a realization.

“You were never really… scared, were you?”

The room is dark but Mark can sense the blush that spreads across Donghyuck’s cheeks.  “Of you, you mean?” Donghyuck’s heart starts beating weird. “Never.”

When Mark doesn’t say anything, Donghyuck surprises him by asking, “Are you?”

Mark thinks of how he hasn’t ever been nervous for a full moon for years.  Hasn’t felt out of it since the night he started climbing up Donghyuck’s window and whispering clumsy metaphors until it seemed like Donghyuck was asleep.

So maybe Mark doesn’t confess when some guy tries to prompose before him, or when Donghyuck’s life is potentially endangered by the end of the world, or when some clairvoyant predicts it out of him.  “No,” Mark says, because he decides to confess just because he feels like it.

(But because he learns a little something new, he feels the need to rub it in, because what kind of best friend would he be if he didn’t?  While he’s at it, he also tells — teases, rather — Donghyuck to stop pretending to be afraid.)

“Oh,” Donghyuck says, takes a very audible breath.  “I can’t believe you actually confessed to me first…”

Mark rolls his eyes.  “It’s not a competition, baby.”

“Well, no.”  Like he’s preparing himself before some school presentation, Donghyuck clasps his hands together.  Is he getting all nervous on Mark now? “But if you only waited just one day, then I could have surprised you with a really bomb ass promposal.”

“Oh.”  Mark’s hand twitches in the air awkwardly.  He wants to hold one of Donghyuck’s but he’s suddenly unsure of how to go about it. “So you’re saying you like me back?”

“Oh my god…” Donghyuck tangles their fingers together with the most dramatic sigh. “Yeah, I like you too, you idiot.”

They both glance out the window.  The time pressure is a bit annoying, but it’s thanks to the moon that Mark gets to see such an uncharacteristically flustered Donghyuck.  It’s amazing how fast Donghyuck’s heart starts beating, now, when Mark does as much as pout.

“Don’t get me wrong, I’m not really annoyed at you.  I just got a little impatient.” Donghyuck mumbles, “The gang’s teasing kind of got to me, I guess.”

Mark knows Donghyuck would get annoyed if he tried apologizing, so he settles with a, “Well, we’re here now.”  His eyes crinkle up, two half moons. “Are you proud of me?”

Though Mark needs to go soon, feels the magic start to pulse through him even more urgently, he lingers just a bit longer.  The sun in Donghyuck’s smile gives Mark strength.

“I guess so,” Donghyuck says, and although it’s not a particularly clever reply, Mark still does his little giggle anyway.

**Author's Note:**

> but if you tame me we'll need each other (you'll be the only boy in the world for me) the little prince aka marta's fave hihi
> 
> thanks for reading! this is so self indulgent haha but i hope that you enjoyed reading it anyway <3 normally i'd write mark more dramatically(?) but i thought that this style fit the concept i was going for more heheheh.
> 
> edit [this is getting more hits than i thought it would so i'd like to take this opportunity to say don't forget to stream superhuman today](https://youtu.be/x95oZNxW5Rc)
> 
> yeah i think that's all i had to say, thank you again if you made it this far and i hope you have a great weekend! <3


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